The University of Nottingham has launched an initiative which aims to address major public health challenges in China through research, education and training.

China is facing a number of public health challenges, particularly chronic diseases in an ageing population, such as diabetes, dementia, heart conditions and respiratory problems.

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The University of Nottingham Health China initiative will support collaborative health research and teaching between The University of Nottingham, and a range of partners in the healthcare sector based both in the UK and China.

Research collaborationsThe objective of Nottingham Health China is to increase the amount and quality of research which is taking place between UK and Chinese healthcare institutions, by facilitating interactions between UK and China based researchers and clinicians. It also aims to become the gateway for other UK public and private healthcare providers to enter the Chinese market.

Nottingham Health China will also contribute to the provision of healthcare education in China by providing high quality programmes tailored to China’s healthcare sector needs, and will also engage with both the government and Chinese private sector.

Nottingham Health China Lead, Professor Richard Hubbard, from The University of Nottingham, together with education professionals from both the UK and China officially launched the initiative.

Improving public healthSpeaking about the initiative, Professor Hubbard said: “Nottingham Health China is an exciting opportunity for researchers, educators and health care professionals from a wide range of backgrounds in Nottingham and Ningbo to come together and work on projects to improve public health both in the UK and China”.

Researchers will be focusing on a number of key work strands of the initiative, including nursing and midwifery, mental health, medical education, healthcare software, epidemiology and other key areas of need.

Several healthcare partnerships between The University of Nottingham and China have already been established. Following the launch of the Evidence-Based Healthcare Centre in November 2015, which is a part of the Nottingham Health China initiative, a group of health experts from the University visited partner organisations in Ningbo and successfully organised a symposium on Evidence-Based Healthcare early in 2016.

In another initiative, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences hosted visiting scholars from Ningbo local hospitals from urology, respiratory medicine, and radiology specialities.

Vital roleProfessor John Atherton, Pro-Vice Chancellor for the Faculty of Medicine and Health services at The University of Nottingham, believes that Nottingham Health China has a vital role to play, he said: “The UK and China face many similar health challenges. In line with the ‘Health China 2030’ vision approved in August 2016, the Nottingham Health China initiative will address key healthcare issues relevant to Ningbo and Nottingham, focusing on promoting healthy lifestyles, improving health services and developing health industries”.

Our academics can now be interviewed for broadcast via our Media Hub, which offers a Globelynx fixed camera and ISDN line facilities at University Park campus. For further information please contact a member of the Communications team on +44 (0)115 951 5798, email mediahub@nottingham.ac.uk or see the Globelynx website for how to register for this service.

Notes to editors: The University of Nottingham has 43,000 students and is ‘the nearest Britain has to a truly global university, with a “distinct” approach to internationalisation, which rests on those full-scale campuses in China and Malaysia, as well as a large presence in its home city.’ (Times Good University Guide 2016). It is also one of the most popular universities in the UK among graduate employers and was named University of the Year for Graduate Employment in the 2017 The Times and The Sunday Times Good University Guide. It is ranked in the world’s top 75 by the QS World University Rankings 2015/16, and 8th in the UK for research power according to the Research Excellence Framework 2014. It has been voted the world’s greenest campus for four years running, according to Greenmetrics Ranking of World Universities.